Porsgrunn

Infobox_Kommune
name = Porsgrunn
county = Telemark
idnumber = 0805
landscape = Grenland
capital = Porsgrunn
governor = Øystein Beyer (Ap)
governor_as_of = 2003
arearank = 352
area = 165
arealand = 161
areapercent = 0.05
population_as_of = 2006
populationrank = 22
population = 33,550
populationpercent = 0.73
populationdensity = 2653
populationincrease = 6.4
language = Neutral
lat_deg = 59
lat_min = 6
lat_sec = 56
lon_deg = 9
lon_min = 42
lon_sec = 36
utm_zone = 32V
utm_northing = 6553144
utm_easting = 0540660
geo_cat = adm2nd




munwebpage = www.porsgrunn.kommune.no|

Porsgrunn is a town and municipality in the county of Telemark, Norway.

Porsgrunn was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The town of Brevik, and the rural district of Eidanger, were merged with Porsgrunn 1 January 1964.

Porsgrunn borders the municipalities of Skien and Siljan to the north, Bamble in the west and Larvik in the east. It is part of a cluster of municipalities south in Telemark that constitute the Grenland area of Norway. The town is situated at the mouth of the river "Telemarksvassdraget", also called "Porsgrunnselva" or "The River of Porsgrunn" in English, and is an important center of industry. Originally an industrial park, the peninsula of Herøya, south-east of the city, has today grown into a suburb of Porsgrunn.

The name

The place is first mentioned in 1576 ("Porsgrunn") by the writer Peder Claussøn Friis in his work "Concerning the Kingdom of Norway" (see the article on Norwegian literature). He writes: "Two and a half miles from the sea, the Skien river flows into the fiord, and that place is called Porsgrund." The name was probably given during medieval times to the then swampy area by the nuns of Gimsøy Abbey, who went here to collect the shrub "pors" (Myrica gale), and the Norwegian word "grunn" meaning 'ground'. Until 1931 the name was written "Porsgrund".

History

Porsgrunn has been an important harbor town in the Grenland area since the late 16th century. In 1653, the Customs House was moved further down the Telemarksvassdraget from Skien to Porsgrunn mainly because industrial waste such as sawdust and mud made the river too shallow to allow boats to go any further up the rivercite web|url= http://www.porsgrunn.kommune.no|title= "Historien vår" - byhistorisk utstilling|accessdate= 2007-06-16|publisher = Porsgrunn.Kommune.no] . Moving the Customs House from Skien to Porsgrunn in 1653 added to the flourishing harbor activity, and Porsgrunn became a thriving market town. In the 18th century, it was the home of some of Norway's most influential families at the time, such as the Aalls, Cappelens, Løvenskiolds, and Deichmans, and in this period Porsgrunn was considered the cultural centre of Norway. On the ecclestiastical side, Porsgrunn was separated from the ancient rural parishes of Eidanger, Solum, and Gjerpen in 1764 to become a prestegjeld with its own minister. It was granted limited city status in 1807, but this was expanded to full city status in 1842.

Industry

Porsgrunn has a long history of heavy industry.
Important industries in Porsgrunn include:
* Norsk Hydro (Magnesium)
* Elkem (Silicium)
* Yara International (Nitrogen fertilizers)
* Porsgrund Porcelænsfabrik (Porcelain)
* Renewable Energy Corporation (Wafer (electronics))
* Isola (Building materials, Roofing)
* Norcem
* Eramet

Transport

Transport links from Porsgrunn:
*Bus (Oslo, Kristiansand, Notodden)
*Train (stops at Porsgrunn Station)
**Vestfoldbanen to Drammen and onwards to Oslo
**Bratsbergbanen to Skien and Notodden

Famous people from Porsgrunn

* Cort Adeler, admiral, born in Brevik
* Johan Castberg, politician, born in Brevik
* Kristin Halvorsen, politician, leader of Socialist Left Party, Minister of Finance
* Petter Stordalen, businessman, real estate developer and hotel owner
* Tony Capaldi, professional footballer currently playing for Cardiff City
* Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, former leader, Unge Høyre

:"See also (category)

References

Books

* Harald Hals (1968). "Eidanger bygdehistorie". Brødrene Kjaer Boktrykkeri.
* Johan N. Tønnessen (1956-1957). "Porsgrunns historie".
* Ole Georg Moseng (2006). "Porsgrunns historie . Bind I . Byen i emning ".
* Ellen Schrumpf (2006). "Porsgrunns historie . Bind II . Byen ved elva".

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.porsgrunn.kommune.no/ Municipal Homepage]
* [http://www.porsgrund.com/ Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik AS (porcelain factory)]
* [http://www.isola.com/ www.isola.com]
* [http://www.porsgrunn.folkebibl.no/ Porsgrunn public library]